At fifteen, I was home from school with my younger brother 12, and sister 10, when two men drove up to our remote house in Southeast Oklahoma. At 3 miles from the nearest neighbor, it was a significant occurance to have traffic come our way. ( Very far back in the woods.)
These two guys pulled their car around and to my brothers eyes "hid" it behind our house. My first clue to all of this was him coming in to holler over the shower about the two fellows poking around. He was scared, so my kid sister was scared too.
The worst part of the set up for this situation was that the book I was reading at the time was Helter Skelter about the random violence of the Charles Manson group of a$$-holes.
To make a long story shorter, I found that if pushed to defend my loved ones, I would do (dripping wet) whatever it took to protect them.
No one died. But I got "right up against it" to use the local parlance of the time and place.
When faced with a shotgun and the firmly (if somewhat shakily) delivered command to stop RIGHT THERE one of these two blithely proceeded to step right on up towards me. When facing the muzzle of said shotgun, he still approached. The sound of a safety clicking off is VERY convincing of sincerity. (Nobody will harm my family).
Thankfully, his friend "woke up" to the reality of death looming large, and stopped his headlong rush toward my steadily increasing pressure on the trigger of my Dads shotgun.
It changed my point of view in pivotal ways to realize that I could.... no, would, kill a man.
Thank God it didn't have to happen. Aikido is a great way to be able to choose to NOT hurt, or worse.

This probably the longest post I have ever put here. (You touched a nerve)
Lan